Some Pronounced Changes for the British Pound This Week

Welcome to our latest look at the currency markets, and more specifically the position of the British pound therein. Let’s see how it fared last week.

An overview of the currency markets for October 29th – November 2nd, 2018

We will start as we usually do with a look at how the British pound fared against the American currency. We began on 1.2793 before moving up to 1.2818 by Monday night. That was soon wiped out over two days of falls, taking the pound to 1.2735 by Wednesday evening. However, we were about to turn a corner. Indeed, the final two days got rid of any fears of an overall dip this week, turning them into quite the opposite. We ended on an impressive 1.2993 instead.

The pattern against the euro is becoming more interesting with each passing week. It is no coincidence that the agreement for leaving the EU seems to be getting closer. This was seen once again this week with an opening rate of 1.1276 against the euro, falling to 1.1217 by Tuesday night. From then on, with more positive news of a deal making headlines, the pound soared to reach 1.1380 by the time the week was up. Next week’s exchange rates may prove similarly interesting to review.

The pattern set thus far by the pound against those two currencies came to the fore again where the Hong Kong dollar was concerned too. We started on 10.030 before experiencing a Monday rise to 10.054. The two drops that followed were more pronounced here, as the pound dipped as low as 9.990 by Wednesday night – territory we had not been in for a while. The week was saved by two good days to end it though, taking us to 10.173 to finish.

There was quite a different picture waiting for us when we looked at the exchange rates against the New Zealand dollar though. Here, we had two disappointing days to start and three better ones to finish. Unfortunately, the damage done early on was too much to repair in the space of three days. Opening on 1.9773 and falling to a disappointing 1.9460 just two days later, we could only get back to 1.9522 by Friday night.

We suspected a similar performance against the Australian dollar too, although here the first three days did not go our way. We opened on 1.8202 before dipping to 1.7971 on Wednesday, which proved to be the low point of the week. We managed to recover some ground by Friday night when the markets closed for the weekend, but only to take us to 1.8026.

Notable events in the world of currency

Great news against the Canadian dollar

There were some good results to be found last week, including this one against the Canadian currency. The pound moved from 1.6820 to 1.7020 overall.

Similarly-good news against the Swiss franc too

There was more positivity with this currency as well. The British pound opened trading for the week on 1.2818 before rising to 1.2998 by Friday night.

Good news also against the Chinese yuan

We dipped in here this week to see how the pound was doing, receiving more good news for doing so. Opening on 8.8859, the pound eventually moved to 8.9577 by Friday evening.

So, we have some good news this week – a good performance from the British pound and very little to be disappointed about. However, with plenty of uncertainty regarding Britain’s position in Europe at present, we should expect more ups and downs from the pound in the coming weeks. The sooner we know how the land lies, the sooner the pound can react against it. Uncertainty is never a good thing for the markets, which is why we should expect further dips in future.

One thing you can count on is our weekly report on the latest movements in the currency markets. Don’t miss the latest look at exchange rates involving the British pound next week as well.